Sawbridgeworth town councillors to appeal East Herts Council planning rejections
Two Sawbridgeworth town councillors say they plan to appeal after East Herts Council refused planning permission for their schemes for Bell Street premises.
The planning authority received two separate applications in July: one concerned The Tuck Shop owner Don Patel's plans to convert his Bell Street convenience store into flats, the other was a proposal by Steven Jones to convert the vacant former Mariposa bridal boutique into a piano wine bar. Both were rejected earlier this month.
"I'm going to give it one last shot for the good of Sawbridgeworth," said Cllr Jones, who lives next to his planned establishment. "These decisions are killing the town."
As elsewhere in Britain, the nature of the town’s high street is changing to a more service-oriented offering. In recent years Bell Street has lost a number of retail businesses, including a book shop and a clothing store. Other businesses have moved on, including Barclays Bank on Knight Street, Saffron Walden Building Society and the Market House pub, which was converted into flats.
Cllr Patel's proposal for the grade II listed building was rejected on conservation grounds, citing poor design and "poorly informed heritage considerations".
The Tuck Shop proposal is "not acceptable in terms of the impact to the heritage asset", the delegated officer's report said. It also noted that "in terms of the conversion of the existing retail use to a residential use, from a conservation perspective there is no in-principle objection".
Cllr Patel, 62, said that he would appeal – and if he does not get approval this time, he will shutter the shop.
"The business environment has changed and East Herts aren't doing anything to support retailers like me," he said. "I've put a lot into that business and I can't just give it away."
Footfall has fallen dramatically in recent years, and he says the recent upgrade to Budgens' supermarket and the opening of the Little Waitrose attached to the Shell garage in November are likely to shrink his trade further.
In the meantime, he has split the shop, renting one half to reduce the rates he claims he can no longer afford. He and wife Smita will continue to run the convenience store and the other part will sell cards.
Cllr Jones's plans to convert the bridalwear shop into a piano wine bar were refused by East Herts on environmental health and housing grounds.
The proposal "would be harmful to the mixed-use role and functionality of the area through harm caused by noise, disturbance, smoking and a lack of adequate facilities and parking provision", the delegated officer's report said.
Cllr Jones said that he had solutions to each of East Herts' objections but claimed "nobody wants to talk to me". Regarding waste disposal concerns, he said he has agreed with restaurant Villa Italia to share its bins.